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Sunday, May 31, 2015

Different Versions Of Barrington Levy's "Here I Come" ("Broader Than Broadway")

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a video of and song lyrics for Barrington Levy's 1985 Reggae classic "Here I Come". That song is also known as "Broader Than Broadway". Information about "Here I Come" and a summary of this song are also included in this post.

As shown below, versions of stage performances of "Here I Come" by Barrington Levy include additional verses for this song, including the line "I took the "s" off of Superman's chest and the "b" off of Batman's belly."

The contents of this post are presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Barrington Levy for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/06/junior-tucker-dont-test-video-lyrics.html for a pancocojams post about Junior Tucker's 1990 record "Don't Test". That record includes the lines "s from Superman's chest & b from Batman's belly". Those lines are from Barrington Levy's free style version of "Here I Come".

...[As a result of] a British hit album called Here I Come; Levy received the Best Vocalist prize at the British Reggae Awards in 1984.[2] The late 1980s saw Levy, now in his twenties, slow down his recorded output, though he continued to perform and record regularly, and played at Sunsplash every year from 1987 to 1995."...

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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_I_Come_(album)
"Here I Come is a reggae album by Barrington Levy. The music was recorded at Channel One Studios in Kingston, Jamaica. It was released in 1985 on LP on Time I Records,[1] and once again in 1988 on CD.

The album was well-received, with Jack Barron of Sounds giving it a three and three-quarter star rating, calling it "a deviously diverting record".[1]
The track "Here I Come," from this album, is featured in Saints Row 2 and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

The track "Here I Come" was also sampled on "Harlem World" from the album Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version by Ol' Dirty Bastard produced by Big Dore."...

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SUMMARY OF "HERE I COME"
"Here I Come" focuses on the exploits of a man about town who brags about his sexual prowess ("I'm broader than broadway", "extra size", "all of the woman are posse for me"*), but also shares the problems he has with his woman Rosie, and his woman Simone (if these aren't the same woman.)
Similar to the lyrics to folk songs, there are different versions of Barrington Levy's "Here I Come". YouTube publishers have given those versions the titles "Sweet Love", "Come", or
In some versions, the woman who asks him to come make love to her already has a daughter and wants a son. In other versions, the woman already has a son and wants a daughter.

The lines "I took the "s" off of Superman's chest/and the "b" off of Batman's belly" and one of its subsequent rhyming lines** isn't found in the "Here I Come" record, but appears to be sung in many of the stage performances of that song.

*All of the women are my posse (posse- a person's close friends; in this case, the women who the man calls his own)

** The line that follows "b from Batman's belly" is sometimes "Now I'm making love most consciously" and sometimes "That’s how I get the name “Barrington Levy”.

On the intercom Rosie tell me to come,
Said she didn't have a daughter, she did have a son,
She said the lift doesn't work, run up the stairs and come,
And if you don't come quick, you're not gonna see your son,
So I grab a bunch of rose, and I started to run,
Here I come! Whaoh!

Two months later she said come and get your son,
'Cause I don't want your baby to come tie me down,
Because you are old, and I am young,
Yes while I'm young, yes I wanna have some fun,
Run me down! Whaoh, seen!

When you go to volcano, it's like a stage show,
You have man that sling, DJ, and blow,
Pull it down the radio.. ooh.. seen!

On the intercom Rosie tell me to come,
Said she didn't have a daughter she did have a son,
She said the lift doesn't work, run up the stairs and come,
And if you don't come quick, you're not gonna see your son,
So I grab a bunch of rose, and I started to run,
Here I come! whaoh!

Two months later she said come and get your son,
'Cause I don't want your baby to come tie me down,
Because you are old, and I am young,
Yes while I'm young, yes I want to have some fun,
Run me down! Whaoh, seen!

Over the ocean and over the sea,
All of the girls dem are pose for me! (ohh.. wheee!)
Whaoh, seen!

On the intercom Rosie tell me to come,
Said she didn't have a daughter, she did have a son,
She said the lift doesn't work, run up the stairs and come,
'Cause if you don't come quick you're not gonna see your son,
So I grab a bunch of roses, and I started to run,
Here I come! Whaoh!

Two months later she said come and get your son,
'Cause I don't want your baby to come tie me down,
Because you are old, and I am young,
Yes while I'm young, yes I want to have some fun,
Run me down! Whaoh, seen!

One of the great success stories of the '80s, Barrington Levy, arrived on the dancehall scene and swiftly remodeled it in his own image. Although numerous DJs and vocalists would rise and fall during this decade, Levy was one of the few with staying power, and he continued releasing massive hits well into the '90s. Born in 1964 in Clarendon, Jamaica
-snip-
These lyrics differ from those given above. Barrington assigns numbers to Part II and Part III.
Part I: given similarly as above, without the repeated verses.

Part II: (lyrics given in a comment from Abdalla Taha , 2013 in this video's discussion thread)
"On the telephone, she heard my voice Tell me to pick her up in my Rolls Royce If my Rolls Royce is not for ladies Then girl I'm gonna take you in my Mercedes If my Mercedes will not fill up with the disease Then girl I'm gonna take in my Firebird If Firebird cannot take the curb Girl put your ass in the damn Metro bus.
-snip-
There's an additional line after the word "Metro Bus" but I can't decipher it.

Part III: [my transcription]
During making love the girl tell me to come
Says she want a daughter
‘Cause she already have a son
and if I don’t come quick
I can forget it
So I draw for me ginseng and I take one sip
Shoulda see me just ah gallop like a horse a get whip,
Come quick, woh a oh

she said you are love and not another
Though some men change but you will never
She said you my lover and not another
Though some men change but you will never.
For I love a love love love you love you forever.
Sweet, sweet love yes she gives me forever.
She give me love, love, love, love, love, love forever-
She give me love, love, love, love, lovee, love forever, yeeah,
Stop it!

I just reached the airport
And I buy ah ticket
The airport commander said that I got to be quick
I reach ah jet star, I’ve a telex
I was talkin to my next door neighbor* her name is Paulette.
Simone hear that and Simone get vexed.
All of a sudden she draw for her ex.
But her ex couldn’t kiss
And he couldn’t caress.
Due to how he freebase, he didn’t have a chest.
She have to confess that I am the best.
‘Cause a me take an “s” off of Superman’s chest.
And take off the “b” off of Batman’s belly
And now we makin love more consciously.
He say come come come come

Ye ah oh oowe Yoh woh woh
Come, come, come, come, come, come
Ah we nah come.
Come, come, come, ah we na come!
Come come yah we na come ah.
Come, come, come, come, we nah come come come
Durin making love the girl tell me to come
Says she want a daughter
‘Cause she already have a son.
and if I don’t come quick
I can forget it.
So I draw for me ginseng and I take one sip.
Shoulda see me just ah gallop like a horse a get whip,
Come quick, woo oo woo.

She said you are love and not another
Though some men change but you will never.
She said you my lover and not another.
Though some men change but you will never.
For I love you love you love you forever.
Sweet, sweet love yes she gives me forever.
She give me love, love, love, love, lovee, love forever.-
She give me love, love, love, love, lovee, love forever, yeeah,
Stop it!

I just reached the airport
And I buy ah ticket
The airport commander said that I got to be quick
I reach ah jet star, I’ve a telex
I was talkin to my next girl, her name is Paulette.*
Simone hear that and Simone get vexed.
All of a sudden she draw for her ex.
But her ex couldn’t kiss
And he couldn’t caress.
Due to how he freebase, he didn’t have a chest.
She have to confess that I am the best.
‘Cause a me take an “s” off of Superman’s chest.
And take off the “b” off of Batman’s belly
That’s how I get the name “Barrington Levy”.
You take [clip ends with music chords]

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I'm an African American mother, grandmother, & retired human services administrator. For more than forty years I have shared adapted West African stories with audiences in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.
I have four blogspots: pancocojams, zumalayah, cocojams2, and .Civil Rights Songs. Much of the content of these blogs were previously found on my cocojams and jambalayah cultural websites. I curate all of these blogs on a voluntary basis.
Each of these blogs have the primary goal of raising awareness about cultural aspects of African American culture and of other Black cultures throughout the world, particularly in regards to music & dance traditions.
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